Silver Bullet
by blackkyu
Summary: There is only so much darkness one can handle before they begin to break, and even a Silver Bullet can lose its shine, but a doves feathers are soft and firm, and tears from those dear can become a shimmering lake, reflecting the moons eternal light. But, can they work in harmony? Or will the Silver Bullet drown? KaiCon, RanCon (family)
1. Prolouge

Disclaimer: I own naughta

Pairings: KaitoxConan; RanxConan (family)

Warnings: This is a light yaoi, nothing beyond possibly kissing will happen. Also, as I love the relationship between Ran and Conan, this story will focus on their relationship allot, and, yeah, lots of stuff happens and some of these characters (all) will act a bit OCC. It's been awhile since I've written anything, so I apologize for any issues you might see throughout the duration of this journey.

More warnings: This is the only time this will be present: expect character death and expect people going crazy.

Prologue: Flames

There are times in all of our lives we want nothing more than a restart. We stare at the world around us, our brains freezing, stalling, quitting, and we can't help but think: hey, wait, can I have a do-over? This isn't real, it's not happening…

And, yet, it was.

The flames, the scorching heat, the wail of sirens, the cries of distress, the blood—it was all so familiar, something he'd seen far too many times in his short life.

And…yet…

This was his home, these were his friends, this was his family…it…it just couldn't be.

Not them. Not here. Not now.

Not after everything! It wasn't possible. They couldn't-! This wasn't right!

What had he been fighting for?! What had he been doing?! Why?! Why?!

Lifeless, broken, the Silver Bullet cracked and began to slowly fall apart, watching as his world went up in flames.


	2. Fin Overkill

Disclaimer: I own naughta

Chapter 1: Fin Overkill

There comes a time in every criminal's life when they must make a difficult choice: pink, or yellow. With narrowed eyes Kaito gazed at the skirts as if they held all the answers. Despite popular belief, he truly did put a great deal of thought into the costumes he placed upon His Detectives.

And, as he'd been gone for a while—he never thought he'd meet such an eccentric thief in France* (pot calling kettle, he wondered, briefly)-he had to make it up to them. Snickering to himself, he chose the pink one, small in size, and placed it next to the glittering fairy wings and wand. Tossing the yellow skirt off to the side, he set about making the next outfit.

Doing this for the entire task force took a great deal of time, but he didn't want to rely on his arsenal of preset outfits this time, no, His Detectives and Task Force deserved personal attention. Still, with two whole nights dedicated to the task, the thief had no intention of doing so again in the future. "Kaito!" his mother called, at home due to the holidays, "dinners ready!"

Ah, another night done, only seven more till the heist. Sure, the location put him at a slight disadvantage, but the jewel was a beautiful thing, a dove carved from alexandrite, with gorgeous ruby eyes. Kaito seriously doubted it would be Pandora, but that wasn't the point. He was having a 'Welcome Home!' party whether they liked it or not! And little Tantei-kun wasn't going to have a choice. He had to come. The Phantom Thief had personally invited him after all.

With a pout Kaito rocked back onto his heels and teleported down the stairs—it wasn't really teleporting, but, meh. Details.

"So, how are things coming along, honey?" his mother asked, placing the plates on the counter for him to set on the table, "will your little rival be able to make it?"

"Oh, he'll be there!" he huffed, setting the table with a snap of his fingers, "He didn't make it last time, and he's been acting rather sketchy as of late…"

"Oh?" his mother laughed, moving the last of the food to the table, "how so? Avoiding an old stalker?"

"Yes! Wait, no, I mean, he _is_ avoiding my doves, but that isn't the only thing…"

Raising an eyebrow in question, his mother gestured for him to sit, "what else dear?"

"…I'm not sure," in a rare moment of seriousness, Kaito sighed, running a hand through his already mussed hair, "It's just, something feels wrong."

Nodding, his mother smiled, taking his hand within her own, "then it's your job to make things right."

And right they would be, that is, after he devoured this scrumptious meal.

However, sneaking a peek into the detective agency latter that night showed the family chatting away with a new client. Today, it appeared, would not be the day to interfere.

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The sixth day before the heist went quit well. Ah, as well as he'd expect, considering he did skip a day.

Aoko was angry, as expected, and chased him with her dreadful mop, but upon hearing that he had permission from his mother, she calmed down. Though not without trying to sneak a few whacks in for good measure. He spared her of his usual skirt flipping, in exchange for making her hair stand straight up, in the form of a waving man. This, of course, did not please her, and the chase was on again.

Hakuba was sick, so the thief was a bit less mischievous, though some of his victims would like to declare otherwise, with puke green afros and sparkling pink elf costumes. The detective was simply glad he was spared for the day.

Akako wasn't present, while strange, Kaito simply shrugged it off. Maybe she was at the creepy store that just opened up?

When school was out he wandered off to the park Conan was last seen playing soccer in, his little duckling's most likely calling for a different game after getting trounced for the fifth time in a row. Yet, upon arrival, there was no one there.

The fifth day before the heist was alright. Hakuba had gotten better over the night, and Kaito's pranks reigned supreme. Slightly frustrated on losing sight of his little critic—and now unable to see him again for two whole days due to another case—he took it out on his class in glee. No one got work done, and the substitute teacher for the day ran from the room within the first five minutes. Which was slightly intriguing, usually they would have run in under two. Maybe he could beg the principal to bring this one back?

Akako was still missing, and there was no way he was getting worried. No way in hell.

When school was out, he complained about his lack of success with the little critic to his mother, whom brought to question the extent of his stalking, and smiled, saying that if he was going to stalk the poor boy, he should go all out and follow him everywhere, it wasn't like Kaito didn't know where he was, after all.

The fourth day, Aoko came prepared; hidden within her mop was a f…f…finny thing. Screaming, Kaito clawed his way to the ceiling, and then into it. But she'd been prepared, and there were frekin finny things in there too! With a another high-pitched scream, Kaito disappeared in a poof of smoke, filling the entire room in a pink cloud, and leaving it in complete disarray, with students hanging from the ceiling and walls, or sunk in the floor, and each person with a different hair color and style. Trapped by strings coated in innocent looking balloons—that would explode into glitter, confetti, bats, and any other assortment of things—the class would never bring the damnable finny things to school again.

While Hakuba tried to calmly instruct the students to the exit, it was noted that Akako was missing today as well.

But the thief—hidden away in the faux wall—slipped out of the room before he could dwell on it further. She was a grown woman, a frightening, evil, woman, who could take care of herself.

"Speaking of taking care of oneself," a voice declared behind him, almost making him jump as he spun on his heel in a relaxed manner, poker face on full force, confused smile upon his lips as he blinked down at the faux-child before him, "you really should see a physiatrist, pulling off a heist in an aquarium when you can't even look at the inhabitants? Not very bright."

"Do I know you, little miss?" he asked, ignoring the tiny voice in his head telling him to run as the girl—Haibara, if he remembered correctly—stared at him in dry amusement.

"KID," she declared, smile becoming more dangerous as he inwardly flinched, "stop following Conan."

"Eh?"

Instead of answering, the girl turned on her heel and disappeared down the hall, reminding him of one of Tantei-kun's little muttered rants, demon-child indeed.

Still, despite the tiny voice telling him not to follow, an even bigger portion demanded to know what was going on. And, besides, since when did KID ever do as he was told anyway? Beyond that, he also had to figure out how she knew about his identity. The location of the heist was most likely something she asked Tantei-kun about, but Kaito doubted even he knew about his true persona (if it could be called that)…right?

Shaking his head to dispel the annoying cowardly voice, he smiled mischievously, before muttering to his adorable companions (always hidden on his body) and ordered them to split. There was already a dove watching over Conan, however, with this new development, there couldn't be harm in sending another.

Sneaking out of school was easy, but he made a mental note to leave a gift next time he did it—the classroom didn't count, that was simply self-defense—however, finding the demon-child proved to be much harder. A few minutes passed—a good five, or so, but counting was Hakuba's thing, so he didn't bother keeping to much attention on the clock—before he found her, by the train station. Alas, before he could follow her onto the train, something red caught his eye; something that, in all rights, should never _ever_ look that weak.

"Akako?"

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The third day was mostly spent at home, pacing back and forth as his mother and the family physician looked over the resting witch whom he'd dragged back the day before.

The fact that one of his doves came back from observing the faux-children (for they had combined watches, when Conan had gone to the professors house for the night), and was completely calm as it offered up its leg, showing off the broken device attached, didn't help matters. What in blazes was going on?

Nonetheless, he needed to get prepared, it was time to set up for the heist. So, leaving a dove with his mother, and carefully checking to see if he can still hear anything from the others, he set off…to one of the most dreaded locations on the planet, an aquarium.

The second day was spent in a mixture of relaxation, anxiety, and a growing determination. He'd come into contact with the finny creatures far too much, however, he had found a way to go about the building from within the walls and ceiling (making him wonder why the hidden passages where there in the first place), minimizing his exposure to the monsters. After which he promptly went to sleep. However, upon his awakening, he found that Akako was still asleep, thankfully, the doctor had informed them that it was simply from exhaustion, sure, a few bruises littered her hands and knees, but it was submersed this happened while running, though from what and why was unknown. Tantei-kun, however, was acting far too…normal. After the strange encounter with the demon-child he'd expected for them to try to hide from him, but, if anything, they were easier to follow. The conversations between the faux-children and the ducklings were lighter, somehow, and there was a calm air about Tantei-kun that didn't exist before. Haibara, however, seemed a bit sadder. At least, for a moment, before she turned and smiled smugly at one of his doves.

He'd been kicked out of the house by his mother, whom had gotten tired of his pacing, and he couldn't stand going back to school, the memory of those…f…finny things still too fresh—even more so due to the heist setup the day before—so he did the only other thing he could think of, stalk Tantei-kun.

Was it sad that one of his most beloved past times was stalking his little rival?

Nonetheless, watching the boy laugh and getting dragged about by his ducklings was relaxing, at times he felt the ache to join them, which was strange, honestly. He'd never felt like that when he had stalked Hakuba, well, contemplating it wasn't going to get him anywhere, might as well do what he's always done—exactly what he wants.

Therefore, with a quick flick of his wrist he was now an old croon, and, after slowly waddling up to the whispering children, debating on what movie to watch, he scooped up the mini-detective and hugged him close. The other children were startled, and while Conan stiffened for a bit, he relaxed soon enough, more than likely already suspecting who the culprit was. Haibara was snickering off to the side.

"Obaa-san," Conan called, blinking innocent blue eyes up at him, "is something wrong?"

"Oh, I'm just a bit lonely," 'she' sighed, "my grandkids just left, whisked away by their parents, and now I've found I've nothing to do."

"You can come with us," the little ducklings cried, eyes bright and eager, "we're gonna watch a move then wander about looking for cases!"

"Cases?"

Everyone ignored Conan as he squirmed, tired of being held, as they continued the conversation. And was it just him, or was the mini-detective a bit too light?

"Yeah, we're the Junior Detective league!" the three children posed, imaginary lights and fireworks going off behind them.

"Oh my, so you'd be able to help me find Mr. Fluffles?"

The way they instantly deflated brought a chuckle to his lips. Though the way Conan shivered, made him inwardly frown and hug him closer, his reward was a glare.

"Eh, well, we were kinda going for more exciting cases…" the biggest child grumbled, only to get elbowed by the other two. "We'll help you," the little girl chirped, "do you have a picture?"

"Hey, I thought we were going to see a movie!"

"Oh, come on Genta, there's nothing to see anyway."

"But I wanted to see-!"

"Where was the last place you saw him?" Haibara interjected, stepping forward.

And while the offer had originally been a joke, he saw no way to get out of it now, realizing he'd entrapped himself, Conan gave him a smug smirk before finally wriggling free from his grasp. Still, this could be fun. Thus, the rest of the day was spent hunting for an imaginary cat. It was kind of fun, the children's enthusiasm infectious, even when they stumbled upon on a week old murder and an even older mystery. True to style, Conan and the others solved the mystery within the night, and the cat was all but forgotten.

Conan continued to shiver throughout the ordeal, but the small tremors went unnoticed by everyone but Kaito and the every watchful and sad eyes of the demon-child.

The last day was not one he could skip school for. After having informed his mother of his little adventure she'd determined rest was no longer necessary, and he had to catch up on his work before the heist. Not that he couldn't do that in a few measly hours, if that, but he wasn't going to argue. After a small incident as a child, Kaito realized that his mother was not one to anger. Especially when tired, which she was, from watching over Akako for so long, who still hadn't woken up.

Nonetheless, the class was not pleased with his return, though Aoko was relived for a good while, uncertain if she'd gone too far in her retaliation, though Hakuba assured her that she had every right to fight back. Still, the class had no intention of taking up arms against the thief in their lifetime.

Upon schools end Kaito flew back home (out of sight, of course), the witch was finally awake. "Is she alright?" he whispered, upon appearing behind his mother, whom jumped before nodding and gesturing towards the cracked door, "the doctor is seeing her now," she replied, "she was asking for you."

Nodding, he headed in, ignoring the indignant look the other man sent his way. "Leave," Akako said, directing it to her care giver, "we'll need some privacy," and while that simple sentence sent a chill down his spin, Kaito stood firm and watched, slightly intrigued, as the man set about putting all his supplies away with a rather envious speed and departed with an even swifter one. Perhaps he should inquire about how the old man was able to move like that. It would certainly be useful. "So," the theif began, walking to the front of the bed and rocking back on his heels, "how do you feel?"

"Hades has spoken."

"Again?"

"He's given me a warning."

"I'm pretty sure I can handle myself."

"Perhaps, but what about those dear?"

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The warning, per ritual, was complicated and made very, very little sense. Still, the witch gave him the warning with the last of her strength, passing out soon after. His mother, whom had insured their privacy by forcing the doctor to have tea with her, was the first one up when he informed them. With the warning nestled in the back of his head, Kaito expected sleep to be a faraway dream, but it wasn't as far as he thought, only waking when his doves called to him. Thankfully, this heist was on a day off, otherwise he was certain he'd be forced to attend school again.

Speaking of, whatever was Akako's excuse for being absent? None of the teachers had been asking about her absence…

Eh, not like he could ask her, considering she was fast asleep, yet again. So, after insuring that Tantei-kun planned to come to the heist, the thief started making his last minute preparations and hide amongst his numerous fans as they gathered about.

"It's almost seven, only a few more seconds," a young girl hummed next to him, gossiping with her friend, both of which were on the second floor, where he'd gone to see if he could spot his little rival. Alas, that was not to be the case. Still, KID smiled, now floating above the crowed of adoring fans, that didn't mean he wasn't here.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! IT'S SHOW TIME!"

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 **AN: I'm aware that there might be allot of question in regards to this, so, ask away an I'll answer next chap. Also, I've never really watched Kaitou Kid, so all I know about that world if what I've read in fanfic or seen in Case Closed, so if I make a mistake, please inform me. Thank you all for reading!**

 ***If KID meet Phantom R from Rhythm Thief…**


	3. Forgotten Fireworks

Disclaimer: I own naughta

Chapter Two: Forgotten Fireworks

There are times in all of our lives we want nothing more than a restart. After having slipped up and blurted out the location of the heist in front of the Shounen Tantei while playing soccer (why his thoughts had wondered off to KID's notice while he was playing, he isn't very sure), and experiencing the following excited babble and being backed into a corner until he told them everything about the research into the oddly designed aquarium—basically a giant two story circle—Conan wished he could take it all back. Sadly, he had to settle with beating his head against a nearby light poll. Haibara's silent snickering wasn't helping matters. Neither were the doves that followed his every move. If he wasn't already paranoid due to the Black Organization, then he certainly was now. There are certain things Kaitou Kid had no business knowing.

Sure, they were close…ish. But, they had no place poking their noses into each other's lives. Which is why, though the faux-child had realized KID's true identity a while ago—after stumbling across Detective Nakamori's daughter dragging along a boy that looked startling allot like Shinichi—the young detective never bothered him.

"Kudo-kun?" Haibara called silently, her worry expressed only in the single word.

"I'm alright," he smiled, looking at her from the corner of his eyes, "just thinking."

She replied with a simple nod before she glanced up at the dove, a frown marring her face, "we have to get rid of them somehow." Constantly eluding the creatures was granting on her nerves.

"We are not killing KID's birds, Haibara." He continued before she could reply, "we aren't injuring them either."

"…then I'll ask Hakase about finding a way to destroy those devices."

Nodding in approval, the little detective almost felt like patting her head, "a much better idea." He didn't bother elaborating what was so bad about killing the Internationally Wanted Phantom Thief's precious pets, it was self-explanatory; and, considering the chill that just went down his spine, she knew it, and was going to make him pay for making her look like a fool.

Thankfully, he was saved by Ayumi, "Ran-oneesan!"

Whiplash, why didn't he have it yet? The moment someone so much as uttered his childhood friends name he would jerk to attention, something the evil demon-child would use to her advantage quit often. And, after leaving the kids behind to attend another distant case, they followed suit. Why was the world so cruel? They probably wouldn't have wanted to have gone anyway, if they knew the client was asking them to stay the night in a rundown home, the roof caving in and the place smelling of sewage. While Conan could handle the smell of death (something he has regretfully gotten quite used too), he had no intention of tolerating any other type of stench. Heh, it wasn't like he had the time to get used to such a thing anyway.

"Conan-kun," Ran called, interrupting his slowly darkening thoughts, "It's time to come home."

"Eh?" blue eyes widened in surprise, "but Ran-neechan, it's still early!"

"Oh, oh, are you having a big dinner?" Genta swayed in excitement, "count me in!"

"Yeah! I wanna come too!" the other two cried, wide smiles present. With a laugh Ran shook her head, "sadly, that isn't the case, we have some planning we have to do, though," she continued, when she saw their faces droop, "you can come along, maybe you could help!"

After much cheering everyone departed the park and headed towards the Detective Agency, though, not before Conan and Haibara did some weird thing the others couldn't understand. Not that they'd bother explaining anyway, they were running out of ways to get away from the birds—as they were too intelligent to fall for the same trick twice, so this behavior wouldn't last long. Professor Agasa had better have some way to handle the creatures; otherwise he'd have two angry geniuses on his hands.

Well, angry faux-children aside, the trip to the agency was strangely incident free, causing Haibara to quirk an eyebrow, "the Corpse Magnet is losing its touch."

"Shut it."

The others laughed good naturedly, though Ran's smile was slightly disapproving. It was a testament to how used to the role of Conan he'd become, when his heart instantly dropped and he felt slightly ashamed of his response. Even though, logically, the look was mostly directed to Haibara, who was smiling knowingly. "Hey, what are you planning anyway?" Genta interjected, the Shounen Tantei at the front of the group. Turning her attention from the back of the pack, Ran waved towards the stairs, "I'll explain everything once we're inside, you're hungry aren't you?"

The answering growls made her laugh as she ushered the children inside, each child plopping down in the most convenient seat, ignoring Kogoro's protests and snickering when he yelped in pain, cowering as his daughter forced him into his desk chair. "Alright, dinner first, should we order out?" she asked the room, having realized the fridge was empty, again. The resounding cheer was answer enough, and, after some time debating on what to grab, the grumbling detective called it in.

Once everyone calmed Ran explained the situation.

"What? You're throwing a party?!"

"It's not really a party, Genta, more like a family gathering."

"Yup, only, it's not really family, but friends, right?" Ayumi chirped, eyes bright, "I wanna come!"

"Yeah! It sounds like fun!"

"Uh," Genta interjected, scratching his head, "how are we all going to fit?"

With that, Haibara took over, explaining that was what they were most likely figuring out, with Shinichi's parents, Ran, Kogoro, Eri, Heiji, Kazuha, Agasa, and themselves, the place would be packed. However, the Kudo manor had been offered as an alternate location. Perhaps they could gather at the agency then depart, together, to the mansion? That way, the children exclaimed, as they were planning on having the gathering on the night of a KID heist, they can all go together—the agency was closer to the location. So, technically, Conan clarified, they'd depart the agency, head to the heist, then end the night in the manor. They all ignored the Sleeping Sleuth's complaints about spending the night in that 'brats' house. Though Ran did, 'accidentally', bump his shoulder a tad bit rougher than necessary.

When questioned about why his own parents couldn't make it, Conan countered by asking if they'd bring their parents along, to which the Shounen Tantei immediately replied in the negative. Though it was obvious Ayumi wanted to bring her mother along, she shook her head and declared she'd be busy. They'd 'cramp their style' anyway, as Genta put it. It was then that the food came, and the conversation deviated onto another topic.

"So, what are we going to do?" Ayumi inquired, eyes bright at the possibilities.

"We're going to one of KID's heists, what's going to top that?" replied Genta, around a mouthful of food, which Mitsuhiko looked upon disapprovingly, "capturing KID, of course!"

"If anyone's going to capture that Phantom Thief, it'll be me! The great Mouri Kogoro! Not you pipsqueaks!"

"Oh, you wanna bet?" the Shounen Tantei leaned forward as one, staring up at the Sleeping Sleuth with mischief evident in their eyes, "how about this, whoever comes the closest to capturing KID gets a reward?"

Looking about ready to object, Kogoro jumped when Ran smiled at him, "well, it certainly sounds like fun, don't you think so dad?"

Sensing his defeat, he slipped back into his chair and grumbled about how much trouble he was going to be in, after a few minutes, however, he smiled and declared, "well, you'd have to convince all the others. I don't think _that women_ would agree."

"Oh, mom would definitely agree, and I think the others would have fun."

Conan almost felt bad for the thief, and if he wasn't already certain that his parents would have too much fun simply messing with everyone, he'd fear for KID's capture. Wait, why would he fear that? Wasn't that…no, it _used_ to be his reason for going to each heist, but, it had become so much fun that he'd stopped thinking about it all together. Isn't that why he never bothered KID's civilian persona, for fear of the game ending? Was that what they were doing, playing a game? It made sense, considering the thief's personality, and, though he was loath to admit it, he quit enjoyed the thought of it being a game. One that would never end…well, no, that wasn't right, it would end, soon, wouldn't it?

"Kudo-kun," Haibara waved a hand in front of his face, concern hidden deep within her eyes as she whispered, "your shivering."

"Sorry," he muttered back, suddenly feeling exhausted, "I'm just a bit tired, is all."

There was no way she was convinced that that was the only reason, but it was growing late, and as yawns spread around the room, they had to call it a night and the children were taken home; though not before they saw a strange looking woman enter the agency they just departed. A case, this late at night? Not even curiosity could keep the Shounen Tantei awake, and thus they resolved to find out about it in the morning.

Sadly, when morning came, Haibara had to inform them that Conan and the others had left, and wouldn't be back for two days. "That's alright," declared Mitsuhiko, crossing his arms, "this is the perfect time to plan on how to capture KID!"

With a raised brow, Haibara inquired, "you're not seeking Edogawa's help?" though she really wasn't surprised, considering their competitive streak. The combined toothy grin wasn't out of the ordinary either. "We'll defeat him this time, for sure!" they yelled, throwing their fists into the air in excitement. "So, how about…" the Shounen Tantei began, huddled together in the center of Agasa's apartment, used to the sounds of the professor rummaging about and Haibara doing her own thing, for which she was grateful. Pulling out some notes, she resigned herself to the fact that going back to the lab and staying in there the whole day, chasing after some non-existent cure wouldn't help anyone. She sat at a table, far from the children, and looked over the formulas and scribbles, suddenly hopeless eyes staring at the results of her creation. They didn't have much time left. "Kudo-kun," she sighed, quietly, "how are we going to handle this?"

"Fireworks!"

"Eh?"

"We can use fireworks on the rooftops, here and here!" Ayumi declared, circling places on the map.

"That might surprise him, with the added effect of making him easier to spot…" muttered Mitsuhiko, "but when would we set them up?"

"Yeah!" Genta joined, pointing at the clock, "to early and KID might see us and the whole things ruined!"

"Just before the heist," Haibara offered, having wondered over after putting away her notes, "we could split up, two of us would be in charge of setting up the fireworks, the other two could chase KID."

"Wouldn't that make the others suspicious?" Mitsuhiko frowned.

"Well, everyone will be after KID, right?" they nodded, "then everyone would be suspicious anyway."

Realization slowly dawned on their faces and they began the chatter excitedly, coming up with some of the most ridiculous ideas on how to get to the rooftops and what the signal would be. It wasn't till later that they began the debate on who would do which part, but, in the end, they decided to play a game to determine that the day of, to keep an element of surprise to the plan. Once they agreed upon the idea, the Shounen Tantei began to leave…only to be reminded that they, in their excitement, forgot about school. Agasa, however, alleviated their fears as they learned that it had been closed due to a broken water pipe, and would remain so until it was fixed.

"Ai-kun," the Professor hedged, after the children left, "are you alright?"

Sighing tiredly, Haibara turned weary eyes upon the professor, "no," she said, surprising him with her honesty, "In the end, I couldn't save either of them."

"Ai-kun…"

No, it couldn't end like this, not like this. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and counted to ten. What could she do now? Seek help? From whom? She sniffed, the Professor was already doing everything he could, and it wasn't like anyone else knew about their circumstances, and if they did, what could they possibly do? Suddenly, she felt a tug, stumbling she glanced about, but all she saw was the worried Professor; that is, until a red butterfly appeared, fluttering before her face. If it wasn't for Agasa's sudden jump, she would have been certain that she was hallucinating.

Under normal circumstances, neither of them would have followed the creature out the door, nor would they have taken the train and wound up following said creature down unknown streets. Yet, these weren't normal circumstances, and Haibara was willing to try almost anything, so when she saw the door of a peculiar store open wide, allowing the butterfly entrance, she stepped in without a second thought, Agasa close behind. His presence gave her some comfort, and she couldn't help but smile as he tripped over the entrance.

"Welcome," came a smooth voice from their left. Turning, they found it belonged to a Red Women.

"Sorry to intrude," Agasa began, surprisingly formal and with a light dusting of pink on his cheeks—which made him look sick, "but we were following this rather uniquely colored butterfly, and we wound up here."

"Oh?" the women tilted her head, "Lucifer doesn't often act on his own."

"Lucifer?" Haibara muttered, disbelief seeping into her words as she glanced about the stores wooden interior.

"You have something you'd like to ask," the women declared, ignoring the faux-child's comment, "I can give you the answer you seek."

"What's the catch?" both the Professor and Chemist inquired, weary and uncertain; they moved back toward the entrance but found they, for reasons unknown, could not leave. A small amount a panic flashed through their minds, but their eyes caught and they relaxed, just a bit. They would get through this, they had too. For Shinichi.

"Follow me," the women said, amused by their display, before she turned and headed down a hall that was certainly not there before. Cautiously, they followed her into a rather bland room, bare beyond the single table at the center, its three chairs, and the strange crystal ball floating at the table's very core. Normally, Haibara would have turned her nose at such a sight, and Agasa wouldn't be found anywhere in the area. However, they had no place to go but forward.

Together they took their respective seats, and silently watched as the Red Women casually walked over to the chair across from them, her red hair swaying back and forth in a slightly hypnotizing manner. Once she sat, she shushed them with a red manicured nail, "the price for the question has already been paid…" she paused, red eyes falling upon the crystal ball in surprise, eyes widening, "this is, unexpected." She all but whispered. "What?" Haibara snapped, already anxious, and wanting to know whom or what paid the price. Still, the Red Women remained silent, eyes gazing into the ball, which had darkened over time. The silence seemed to deepen in intensity, and as the crystal ball continued to darken, so too, did the room, they dared not glance about, afraid what little light the shown off from the Red Women's nails and eyes would vanish in an instant.

"Too little time," the women began, voice now deep and layered, many in one, "too little time, the moon will cry, for, by day break, time is up, time is up. Do not sigh or glance upon the clock, look forward and run, for time is up, time is up. Though grace be brought upon doves wings, the storm delays the gift, time is not ones friend, the moon will cry, run, and run, and run, do not glance upon the clock, for time is up."

To say the next day came in a flash, would be surprisingly accurate. They recalled naught how they returned, but the pressure of the darkened room and the echo of the Red Woman's words haunted them, pushing them to action. A dove, she'd mentioned, and there was only one in Shinichi's life whom fit; and while Conan had never once let slip the others identity, the Professor and Chemist combined picked him out quick enough, photos of cases, recollections, and every stone turned, the school in which he resided was far enough away to warrant some speeding; though, as the poor vehicle ran out of gas, Haibara would have to find her own way back.

Not that it concerned her.

She walked the rest of the way to the school, leaving Agasa to wait for a tow; and although she was stopped every now and again, a quick shift to wide eyes and a suddenly bouncy step was all it took to convince them that she was on her way to surprise her _big brother._

The trouble would have been in navigating the school, if, of course, there wasn't loud crashing, screams, and a boy, pale as death, sneaking out of a room. How convenient, she thought with a smirk, standing still behind him and listening as he muttered under his breath about some woman who, from the sounds of it, Conan would say she'd get along with. "Speaking of taking care of oneself," she interrupted, amused by his ramblings but eager to be ride of his presence, "you really should see a psychologist, pulling off a heist in an aquarium when you can't even look at the inhabitants? Not very bright."

She almost smirked as his poker face slipped on with ease, though not fast enough to hide his vivid surprise. "Do I know you, little miss?" while she was used to being treated as a child, being treated as such from Conan's rival was almost grating and humorous at the same time, especially with the fear barely visible in his eyes, perhaps, Haibara thought wickedly, it was time for a little scare.

Twitching her lips upward in a way that always made the miniature detective flinch, she declared, "KID, stop following Conan."

"Eh?"

Instead of answering, she turned on her heel and walked down the hall, making sure to weave between the sudden influx of students. She knew her trick would work, reverse psychology was a wonderful thing. And when she spotted the boy trailing behind her when she'd reached the train station, she couldn't help but shake her head, why were the two most intelligent people she knew so easy to manipulate?

Nonetheless, when she returned to the Professors home, and found Conan reclining in one of the chairs, sipping on a cup of coffee, she couldn't stop the sudden wave of relief. They still had some time.

Smiling softly in greeting, Conan's eyes flicked from her to the doves resting outside the window, "find a way to handle them yet?"

In response the young chemist sat in the chair across from him, "Hakase has something planned."

Only slightly surprised when Conan raised an eyebrow before getting up and fetching her a cup of coffee, she began to fill him in on what he'd missed. Not at all pleased when he held back certain details about his own adventure, and how his eyes seemed to have lost their intensity, the deep blue now a calm lake, rather than a rushing stream.

"So, where are they getting the fireworks?"

"Hakase can simply make them."

"…I'd rather him not…"

"Ran could fetch them." She countered, watching his reaction from over her cups rim, "but then she'd be assisting the enemy."

"…and why can't he just buy them instead?"

"Because he'd be helping the enemy."

Conan almost laughed, but merely quirked a brow instead, "first, you aren't on their team? And, second, wouldn't making them count?"

"Not if I sabotage them." She replied, blatantly ignoring the first question.

"There wouldn't be any sabotaging necessary."

"Exactly."

When the Professor finally waltzed out of his laboratory, it was to find the two debating on whether or not the Shounen Tantei would really believe that his personally made fireworks wouldn't be defective. If he hadn't already walked in on many similar conversations, he'd feel rather insulted. As it was, he simply sighed and waited for the two faux-children to acknowledge his presence. As tired as the three where, the Professor made the unveiling of his latest invention rather swift.

The device looked rather like one of Kaito KIDS card guns, completely white and seemingly unthreatening, he pointed the device at the sole remaining dove outside the window, and pulled the trigger. When the device attached to its leg suddenly cracked with a startling snap, the bird, strangely enough, was the only one not to jump. With a tilt of its head, the dove examined the broken device and cooed, softly, before glancing back at them and ruffling it's feathers, as if to say, ' _that's it?'_

Still, while the bird remained, the device was gone, for now. And though KID would certainly use a different device in the future, it would be awhile before he could fully counter the Professors new invention. With small smiles of satisfaction, the young geniuses nodded their heads in satisfaction before heading off to bed—as Conan had, apparently, already acquired permission to stay the night.

The reason behind that became apparent the next morning, when Haibara found him shivering, curled up in a ball of sweat on the coach. Convincing the children and Ran to let the little detective be was rather difficult, and making sure KID's doves heard nothing even more so. Especially, at this point, when she was tempted to simply let them do as they pleased. However, it was still far too early, and the Phantom Thief might very well do something rash—like not set up for his heist—just to make sure his Tantei-kun was alright.

Nonetheless, Conan was his usual stubborn self, and he made all three occupants of the house gather, each one with a nice hot cup of coffee at hand. At last, he told them of his troubles, of the understanding he'd finally reached, of his acceptance of his fate.

It hurt, to say the least. It hurt them a great deal to see him smile so calmly as he basically stated he'd given up. That he'd stopped fighting. Especially after they'd finally, _finally_ , attained a hint, a clue. Nonetheless, they couldn't, _wouldn't_ , destroy the small peace he'd found. Not with something that they, themselves, were uncertain of. So they nodded along, determined to make the most of what time they had left.

The next day was, once again, a day off. They would likely pay for that latter in the school year, Haibara noted with a frown, glancing upon the Shounen Tantei as they bragged about their plan to catch the Phantom Thief being so epic Conan and KID wouldn't know what hit them, not knowing she'd told him all about it, or that the Thief had been tailing them for a while already.

They'd already, hit most of the stores in the area, saying hello and helping out where they could, throughout which Haibara made sure to keep a careful eye on Conan's condition. And, thus, they were running out of things to do, but the day was far from over—most places doing nothing more than ushering the early risers out their doors and into the sun, where 'children should be out playing'. Lost, the group, now done bragging and discussing Conan's weird habit of defending KID whenever the others would question his motives, they stood before a movie theater.

"Should we go in?"

"It's not like we have anything else to do."

"So, who wants to watch Yaiba VS Crab Monster?"

"We've already seen that three times," Conan groaned, "can't we watch something else?"

"How about this one?"Haibara supplied, pointing towards a poster depicting a group of kids on some sort of bus.

"Never heard of it."

"What's it about?"

Before she could respond, however, Conan was suddenly picked up from behind. At first the Shounen Tantei tensed, uncertain of what was going on. But behind Conan's head lay the face of an old women, eyes kind, with a small smile in play.

"Obaa-san," Conan called, blinking innocent blue eyes up at the women, "is something wrong?"

Both he and Haibara knew, of course, who the women truly was, but they remained curious all the same.

"Oh, I'm just a bit lonely," 'she' sighed, "my grandkids just left, whisked away by their parents, and now I've found I've nothing to do."

"You can come with us," the children cried, ignoring the looks the detective and chemist gave them, "we're gonna watch a movie, then wander about looking for cases!" That hadn't originally been a part of the plan, but, it was to be expected.

"Cases?" the 'women' questioned, still hugging the little detective.

Everyone ignored Conan as he squirmed, tired of being held, as they continued the conversation. Though Haibara couldn't help but snicker a bit at his predicament.

"Yeah, we're the Shounen Tantei!" The three children posed, imaginary lights and fireworks going off behind them.

"Oh my, so you'd be able to help me find Mr. Fluffles?"

It took every ounce of self-restraint Conan had not to laugh as the kids instantly deflated, though the shiver that ran through his body quickly dispersed the humor. That, and the 'old women's' sudden decision to hug him closer to 'herself.' His glare had very little effect. Though it seemed to relieve Haibara of some of the tension she'd suddenly felt.

"Eh, well, we were kinda going for more exciting cases…" Genta grumbled, only to be elbowed by the other two. "We'll help you," Ayumi chirped, "do you have a picture?"

"Hey, I thought we were going to see a movie!"

"Oh, come on Genta, there's nothing to see anyway."

"But I wanted to see-!"

"Where was the last place you saw him?" Haibara interjected, stepping forward.

It was obvious that the plea for help had been made in jest, but with the sparkling eyes of the Shounen Tantei on 'her' even the 'old women' couldn't back out now Conan realized, sending his capture a smug smirk before finally wriggling free from 'her' grasp.

The rest of the day was spent hunting for the imaginary cat. It was kind of fun, especially when they stumbled upon a rather intriguing week old murder and an even older mystery, Conan slipping every now and again and granting the Shounen Tantei proud smiles as they set about solving the case.

Still, no matter how hard he tried to hide the shivers wracking his form, concentration pointedly on the case and the kids, both the 'old women' and Haibara noticed, and they called it a night soon after everything was settled.

Tomorrow was the heist, thus, even though school was back in action, not one of the students was really paying attention, not when the great Phantom Thief KID was going to appear so close to home. It was a struggle for the teachers, but they managed to get the kids through the school day. Upon its end, the Shounen Tantei gathered around Conan's desk and discussed tomorrow's plans. Well, the ones not involving their little competition. Agreeing that some preparations where still in order, they soon dispersed for the day.

The heist, many found, would be held later in the day, thus, Ran declared, as Conan helped her pick up the cans littered about the agencies floor, everyone should be in place well before then. No one had really considered placing an exact time on the gathering, as they were all coming from separate places, but this was a heist they were going to, so everyone was certain to appear early that day.

And early it was, when the Shounen Tantei, the Professor and Haibara arrived. Ah, how Conan would have loved to have a glass of coffee just about then. Not too far after, Heiji and Kazuha arrived, the classic mix-up of names rearing its head as Heiji accidentally thanked Kudo for inviting him. Eri arrived a few hours later, which immediately resulted in Kogoro having a fit, which lead to a brand new hole in his desk and two rather nervous parents standing as far apart as possible. Shinichi's parents where the final ones to arrive, though, honestly, Conan was surprised they came at all.

The heist began at seven, it was almost three, the Shounen Tantei turned to Ran in near panic, "we've forgotten something!" they cried. Well, honestly, they had forgotten a great deal of things, the fireworks, for example. Still, with a calming smile, she promised to quickly pick them up from the store, quit pleased when Shinichi's parents stepped in to keep the children occupied for the time being. She was grateful to have an excuse to leave the overcrowded agency, their decision to use the Kudo residence later that night something she was quite thankful for. Still, she hadn't the slightest idea where to go to grab the supplies the children required.

"Ran-neechan," Conan called from beside her, eyes wide as he grasped her hand, "are you okay?"

Smiling she nodded, though, she explained, she was a little at a loss on what to do. Normally, she would never admit to such a thing to a child, but Conan was, well, Conan, and that meant he was an acceptation to a great many things. And, with a beaming smile and a small tug of the hand, he declared, "I know just the place!"

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 **A/N:**

 ***Forgetting School: they had, originally, departed their houses to go to school, but, in my imagination, they grew too curious and wanted to speak with Conan immediately about the strange women from before, but when he wasn't home they decided to pick up Haibara and ask her, instead. And, yes, they woke up supper early to get all this done. So, when they went to her house, they forgot about school due to the excitement of the heist, and, their parents, basically, called Agasa off screen, which is how he learned about the school being closed.**

 **P.S. The ball will start rolling next chap, promise, but, for the time being, feel free to nitpick or complement away at my longest chapter yet…I mean, seriously, I don't think I've ever written a chapter this long…ever…and now I'm very tired, so if I messed something up, just like last time, please say so. Thanks!**


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